Raising Villains the Right Way

‘Sharing miracles.’  

There were two main reasons why Alon chose Sili as the recipient.

First.

The first reason was that she was the younger sister dearly loved by Deus.

Now that the Apostle of Sloth had been dealt with, the immediate threat was gone.

However, if another such danger arose, she would need the strength to resist on her own.

If Sili were to die, Deus would undoubtedly succumb to corruption and fall into sin.

Because he cherished her immensely.

The second reason was quite simple.

Sili seemed unexpectedly capable of handling Alon’s power well.

With this recent incident, Sili’s gaze toward Alon had completely changed.

From seeing him as the one responsible for her brother Deus’s unusual transformation, she now regarded him with reverence and devotion.

Even without trying to sense it, that emotion was blatantly clear.

‘Besides, since she’s already highly talented in magic, she might be able to use faith-based magic later on.’  

Regardless.

Faith was only a secondary factor.

Ultimately, the most important reason was to ease Deus’s concerns.

‘It’s not like there’s anyone else to share my power with right now.’  

Had he still been in Luxibl, he would have granted power to Syrkal and Jenira.

However, since returning was no longer an option, and since he would inevitably gather enough faith to grant miracles to one or two more people by the time he returned from the north,

Alon had no trouble making the offer to Sili.

Soon enough.

“T-Then, does this mean I’ll become your Apostle, my Lord…!?”

Sili’s eyes sparkled.

Her voice trembled with excitement as if she couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality.

Alon, secretly flustered by her intense reaction, nodded.

“Well, strictly speaking, yes.”

“Can someone like me even do this?”

She lowered herself even further,

Her hands beginning to tremble.

Yet, despite her self-deprecating words, her eyes shone even brighter.

Alon cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed.

‘No need to take it so seriously…’  

For Alon, this was simply about giving Deus’s greatest weakness the power to protect herself.

“……There’s no need to belittle yourself like that.”

“B-But how can I possibly be an Apostle of my Lord—”

“If you don’t want to, you can say so—”

“Absolutely not!!!”

A sudden, forceful outburst.

“Is that so?”

Alon unconsciously stammered.

Sili clenched both fists tightly, as if she had made an enormous decision.

“I’ll do my very, very best!”

She shouted so loudly that her body shook.

Though her intensity caught him off guard,

Alon simply thought, ‘Well, if she’s happy about it, then it’s fine.’

Closing his eyes, he quickly connected to the divine forces he had become familiar with.

This time, unlike before, he selected the significantly diminished divine power of Kalannon.

In that instant.

Crackle—!  

A surge of light flared, and tiny sparks of electricity crackled around Alon.

Unlike the overwhelming spectacle from last time, this time, the electricity moved in much finer, subtler currents.

Yet, even those faint sparks made the knights gasp in awe.

Shaa—  

Feeling somewhat embarrassed for no reason, Alon quickly reached out and transferred the divine power to Sili.

Soon, the blue-tinged energy flowed into her body and vanished.

‘Did it work?’  

Closing his eyes again, Alon observed the faint remnants of Kalannon’s divine power.

It was now even smaller than before, with a tiny star and a thin blue line etched onto it.

At that moment, Alon instinctively understood.

That tiny star represented the person who had received the power.

“D-Does this mean I can use my Lord’s power now?”

“Yes.”

As he opened his eyes, he heard Sili’s voice.

When Alon nodded, she gasped in awe before her gaze firmed with newfound determination.

“As your Apostle, I will do my utmost to spread your greatness, my Lord…!”

“……I’ll leave it to you.”

Truthfully, he hadn’t intended for her to go that far.

But there was no reason to discourage someone who had made up her mind.

Looking at Sili, who was clenching her fists tightly, Alon nodded once more.

***

A while later.

As Alon entered Deus’s mansion, sighing lightly, Evan approached him.

“My Lord.”

“What is it, Evan?”

“I feel a bit left out.”

Evan suddenly expressed his discontent.

Alon looked at him questioningly.

“Out of nowhere…?”

“What do you mean, ‘out of nowhere’? You shared your power with Sili, didn’t you?”

“……Ah, you mean that?”

“Yes, that. Of course, it’s your decision who to choose, but still, I exist too. As your bodyguard… wait a minute.”

“……”

“Am I really… a bodyguard?”

Evan muttered as if questioning his own identity.

[Hmph.]

Just then, Basiliora, who had been quiet, butted in.

[Even if I were in his place, I wouldn’t share my divine power with someone like you.]

“You snakehead, you’re at it again? You’ve been picking fights a lot lately.”

[Fights? Do you even know the meaning of the word anymore? These are rational statements, not picking fights.]

Listening to Basiliora, Alon suddenly realized something.

“……Now that I think about it, you are a god.”

[Hah? Of course! I am the grand Basiliora!]

“Yeah, right. More like a scaly little snake.”

Taking the chance to retaliate, Evan smirked and mocked him.

Basiliora let out an odd screech of frustration,

But Evan ignored him and turned back to Alon.

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, I guess it wouldn’t have been easy for me to receive your power anyway.”

“It’s not that you’re weak.”

“Then is there another reason?”

The reason Evan couldn’t receive Alon’s power was simple.

“The power I share is only effective for those who sincerely believe in me as a god. If there is no faith, it cannot be wielded.”

“Ah.”

“Can you worship me as a god?”

Evan hesitated for a moment, scratching his head.

“That would be a bit difficult.”

“Right?”

“Yes, I absolutely trust you, my Lord, but if you ask whether that trust is the same as ‘faith in a god,’ then that’s another matter. If I had to put it into words… it’s more like you’re a very close companion.”

“That’s why I didn’t give you my power. You wouldn’t be able to use it anyway.”

“I see.”

“Did you think I didn’t consider you first?”

Evan’s face suddenly showed deep emotion.

“As expected, there is no one like you, my Lord.”

“Of course.”

A warm atmosphere filled the air.

“Then, since we’re on the topic, could you perhaps raise my salary a little…?”

“……Didn’t I already raise it last time?”

“Ah—well, you see, these days, expenses have been a bit…”

[Hmph, rather than ‘expenses,’ it’s more like you’ve been throwing all your money at women and now you’re broke.]

Basiliora, as always, never missed an opportunity.

“What nonsense! This is all part of my future planning!”

[Future planning, my scales. That’s just called throwing money into the dirt! Kuhaha!]

After another bout of bickering, Evan cleared his throat unnecessarily and asked,

“So, my Lord, who do you plan to grant your power to in the future?”

“Hmm?”

“That is, your power. You’ll keep sharing it, won’t you?”

Alon thought for a moment.

“I intend to give it only to those who are truly faithful to me.”

That was his answer.

At that moment.

Far away from Caliban, where he had been stationed to avoid being discovered by Deus, Draim, who had been keeping watch, stood in stunned silence.

But he wasn’t the only one.

All the members of the Shadow Leaves saw it clearly.

The Primordial Elf, sharing the power of Kalannon, the lightning receiver, with a human.

For the elves of Greynifra, there had been many recent surprises.

Finding out that the one they called the Primordial Elf was also known elsewhere as Kalannon, the lightning receiver.

Seeing that he possessed not only the power of elves but also took the form of other gods.

All of these revelations had happened within the past month.

Yet, none of the elves harbored any doubts or confusion.

Because they had seen with their own eyes that Marquis Palatio was the Primordial Elf.

Moreover, they already knew that the Primordial Elf was also called Taezon.

So while they were surprised, they simply accepted it as yet another divine name.

Instead, their reverence for him only deepened.

But today, the elves discovered something even more astonishing than his many names.

It was in the words spoken by Marquis Palatio—no, by the Primordial Elf himself.

‘I grant my power to those who are truly faithful.’

The elves present all remembered.

The power of the great Marquis Palatio, the Primordial Elf, who had once revived the withered roots alone.

And now, they could receive that power?

As long as they sincerely believed in him?

Draim subtly turned his gaze to the side.

He met the eyes of his subordinates.

Every single one of them was filled with a fierce sense of competition and ambition.

Of course, the elves of the Shadow Leaves did not move for mere personal gain.

Draim knew this well.

The Shadow Leaves existed solely to carry out the Queen’s orders, as her sword.

However, despite that,

“……Captain, it’s my shift change now, so I’ll head in first.”

“I’ll go in as well.”

Among the elves, a silent rivalry had begun to spark.

***

That night.

Sili, who had received Kalannon’s power from Alon, blankly stared at her hand.

Crackle—!  

A tiny spark of lightning flickered beneath her palm.

If she clenched her fist now, it would disappear as if it had never existed.

Yet, it was unmistakably lightning.

In truth, Sili could already wield much stronger electrical magic.

She wasn’t at the pinnacle as a mage yet, but even so, she could cast far more powerful spells than this.

Which meant that this tiny lightning was not particularly extraordinary for her.

However, despite that, she remained transfixed, staring at the faint spark just before it vanished.

Because this was not her magic—

It was divine power.

Tzz—  

The lightning faded.

Silence settled in Sili’s room.

Only the blue moonlight shone down through the window.

In the darkness, her eyes were the only things that gleamed.

Yet, there was no disappointment in them.

Instead, her gaze carried an overwhelming sense of joy.

She clenched her hand tightly.

During the day, when she had received this power, she had felt happy.

But deep inside, she had also been worried.

Could she truly wield such an immense power?

Yet, she had done it.

Even if it was just a tiny spark.

Even if it was nothing compared to the overwhelming lightning he had shown her.

She had undeniably conjured lightning through divine power.

And that made her incredibly happy.

The realization that she had received power from the very one who had saved her life.

Unconsciously, Sili smiled.

Then, she made a vow.

‘I must never disappoint him.’  

Sili knew what she had to do.

She was an Apostle, and an Apostle must serve the god’s will.

And there was only one thing she needed to do for him.

‘Spread his name across the world.’  

Under the moonlight, Sili smiled deeply.

Inside her keen mind, a plan began to take shape.

A plan to let the world know of the great one.

Meanwhile, as Alon lay buried in his bed, still not fully recovered,

“Ugh—”

With no idea of what was happening, a peculiar plan was beginning to take root.

***

At that moment.

In the grand palace beneath the World Tree in the elven land of Greynifra.

“The elves guarding my dear friend should be dismissed by now. They’re too weak to protect him properly anyway. Wouldn’t it be better for us lizardmen to take over his guard?”

Hazard, the Sage God of the Lizardmen, had suddenly visited the Queen and provoked her.

“……Ha, what nonsense are you spewing?”

A chilling storm was brewing.